Planning to hire Social Media talent...

Numerous people continue to ask me about the right skillsets mindset and other attributes that consitute the right person to hire for a social media position. My typical answers are those often shared by most - high degree of technical understanding, web savvy, high social experience etc. A lot of common sense stuff. But alas we now have a more expert consultation! Amber Naslund posted a clean article on SocialMedia today that should help any organization (especially dealerships) looking to hire Social Media talent to make wise good choices. I know we @ ronsmap will be leveraging her ideas. Thanks Amber!

Oops... You need to stop "Lurking" on ADM and become a more genuine Automotive Professional by completing your membership registration. As a registered ADM Member, you can post comments, publish your own articles (be a star!) and start Forum discussions. Stop being an online "Peeping Tom" and JOIN ADM RIGHT NOW!

It's an interesting question - "At what point (Revenue wise) does a dealer finally get a dedicated Social Media Marketing Manager." My answer to that would be for a dealer to consider the communications benefits first. Remember "Markets are Conversations". So the question for the dealer is to what extent is my dealership, myself, and my entire staff engaged in online communications. Or engaged in the market. Once that threshold is attained then (and perhaps only then) can a dealer discern what would be an appropriate expense strategy to amplify and leverage those communications. It's a bit like when a dealer decided that customer service and dedicated BDC personnel were required. It was only after he and his own staff were heavily steeped in the process and understood all of the "why's and why-nots." So encourage your dealers to get engaged. Encourage every one to get engaged. Check out the recent Social Media ROI on this video as a reason to really get engaged - especially before you think about hiring direct staff:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypmfs3z8esI
I hope this helps...

Hi Ron, good stuff, very good. I was wondering, at what point (Revenue wise) does a dealer finally get a dedicated “Social Media Marketing Manager”? I was just curious. A small Dealer would tap an IM or outsource of course but at what point does a dealer finally go hire an exclusive manager to handle all Digi? Thanks!

Ron,
It had been a while since we connected here.. Hope all is well.
This post really hit home for me because for the last 6 weeks I have been engaged in a project with a very fast growing social media outsourcing company and helped them hire over 12 new folks in the last 2 weeks and they are growing at a rate that is expected to add at least 25 more before the year is up. I was tasked with 2 parts setting the system in place to find and then create a selection process..
My approach was 3 different ads in different communities and then a 100 question online quiz. We had over 145 folks come in thru the ads. With a full automated process we wanted to see the comfort level and how far one would go without a person to talk with- email or twitter, or a tool was fine. We made ourselves easy to find and open to communicate with... except by phone or person. Of the 145 applicants about 50 deselected themselves with no follow up in taking the quiz. Of those that took the quiz we had a record time of 19 mins with a score of 98 and a 6hours with a 78.. the 6 hours was a research and cut and paste job. After that we took all scores above 75 that was done in less than 60mins. That left 54 of those we emailed them and then invited them to TimeDriver to set up an interview time over a 2 day period... of those we had 46 schedule a time and then 44 show... The test wasn't that hard if you are in the business and use the tools and keep up to date in the bigger areas... Then a double interview with their social graphs mapped and example of their writing skills pulled into a folder... We then questioned them by using current client examples and asked them what tools they would use to research client info, needs, industry trends,etc. Then questions in regards to using project management tools and being able to work virtually.... with once a week in office meetings.

We were looking for tactical doer's build the profiles, pages, groups, and build out the social graph of the clients- they also had to create discussion questions, handle replies, RT, and all communications with client thru Basecamp( our project system). Our second type that we were looking for was the strategy folks they would handle the intake and research, monitoring and alignment of the programs... 2 very different folks.. I found that the good tactical folks that could handle inviting hundreds into groups and do this across 6-10 different clients was not so great at the big picture and creative thinking of the strategist folks...and the strategist would go crazy just thinking about customizing of each invite to a group for each client not the what but the doing of it...
It is still early to get data on these hires in terms of success in their roles but we have measures in place to evaluate their work and as I continue to work with these folks we will be getting this data...
It is amazing the quality of folks that are out there right now in this down market...and what they will work for.
Now this is for an outsourced SM program that is handled in a different way than I would handle a client in a 1-1 relationship and it is tough to create a program that is standardize in a way for the client to see what is happening and then management to stay on top of the accounts and get that magical ROI...
The experiment continues... Steve

I think one of the larger questions is whether a dedicated person can be rationalized from a ROI standpoint, which is where you get to the managed social marketing discussions. That being said... I love the article!

Welcome toAutomotive Digital Marketing ProCom
Please use the "Sign Up" link above to complete your registration form and become a member of the industry's leading Automotive Marketing and Internet Sales Professional Community. ADM members have access to resources, connections and private events that provide them with a competitive advantage.